“Phone lead” is a marketing term used to define a business opportunity (or “lead”) that comes in the form of an inbound phone call from a potential customer or consumer. Studies show that inbound calls are the most valuable type of lead because they tend to convert to revenue more frequently than, for example, web leads as well as other types of leads. This may be because phone leads tend to come from people who are further along in the decision-making process and therefore, may need only a few questions answered before making a purchasing decision. For such calls, a sale may be best secured by connecting the caller directly to a sales representative or agent.
However, not all calls are placed with the same purpose. In fact, most inbound calls are non-sales calls, such as, for example, misdials or accidental calls, and simple inquiries for store hours, location(s), directions, and other basic information. Also, many inbound calls are from existing customers who are seeking to, for example, review account information, make a payment over the phone, address an issue with the account, or complete other routine tasks. Many businesses, small and large, have found that live receptionists or customer agents are not a cost-effective solution for handling brief, non-sales calls.
One existing solution for filtering or qualifying incoming calls based on sales potential is a “virtual receptionist” or interactive voice response (IVR) system that enables callers to interact with an automated menu using a telephone keypad and/or voice recognition. Based on the inputs received, such systems can guide callers, for example, to self-service options (e.g., for assistance with business hours or account balance inquiries) or to an agent, department, or voicemail box that is appropriate for the caller's inquiry. In some cases, the latter is determined based on the caller's answers to one or more automated questions that are designed to establish information about the caller, such as, for example, the caller's financial situation, the type of products being considered, how serious the caller is about making a purchase, and/or how far along the caller is in the decision-making process (e.g., is the caller still researching, does the caller have a pre-approved loan, what is the caller's budget, etc.).
Thus, existing solutions depend heavily on the caller's inputs to qualify and/or re-route incoming calls. This can lead to erroneous results, particularly if, for example, there are errors in voice recognition, the caller has difficulty understanding the menu options, and/or the caller makes an accidental selection. Further, many callers, especially those with specific questions about a potential purchase or sale, do not appreciate the time or steps required to be qualified by the virtual receptionist system before reaching a live customer agent. In some cases, the system may direct the caller to a generally appropriate group, which may re-direct the caller to one or more agents and/or narrower groups before finally reaching an appropriate sales representative.
These and other drawbacks to existing call handling systems have led some marketers to implement a call scoring process that analyzes and measures the quality of a call after the fact and uses the findings to improve or optimize future marketing techniques. Calls are scored based on, for example, keyword spotting, call duration, agent performance, customer satisfaction, and/or whether the call converted to sales. As such, the findings of the post-call scoring process can help businesses determine how to obtain more high quality phone leads and close more deals in the future. However, the existing call scoring process cannot impact or improve a caller's experience in real-time, as the scoring techniques require a complete set of call data (e.g., from start to finish of a call) to make recommendations.